Matthew 5:5
General
Psychology
Blessed are those
who hunger and
thirst for
righteousness, for
they will be filled.
Structure of the Cortex
Each brain hemisphere
is divided into four
lobes that are separated
by prominent fissures.
These lobes are the
frontal lobe (forehead),
parietal lobe (top to rear
head), occipital lobe
(back head) and
temporal lobe (side of
head).
Functions of the Cortex
The Motor Cortex is the area at the rear of the frontal
lobes that control voluntary movements. The Sensory
Cortex (parietal cortex) receives information from skin
surface and sense organs. Different parts control different
areas.
Why do the fingers have greater representation
than the upper arm? (Precise Control)
Demonstration
•Try moving your right hand in a circular motion, as if polishing a
table.
•Now start your right foot doing the same motion synchronized
with the hand.
•Now reverse the foot motion (but not the hand). Tough, huh?
•But easier if you try moving the left foot opposite to the right
hand.
•The left and right limbs are controlled by opposite sides of the
brain. So their opposed activities interfere less with each other.
Visual Function
The functional MRI scan
shows the visual cortex
is active as the subject
looks at faces.
Courtesy of V.P. Clark, K. Keill, J. Ma.
Maisog, S. Courtney, L.G.
Ungerleider, and J.V. Haxby,
National Institute of Mental Health
Auditory Function
The functional MRI scan
shows the auditory
cortex is active in
patients who hallucinate.
Language
Aphasia is an impairment of language, usually
caused by left hemisphere damage either to Broca’s
area (impaired speaking) or to Wernicke’s area
(impaired understanding).
Specialization & Integration
Brain activity when hearing, seeing, and
speaking words
The Brain’s Plasticity
The brain is sculpted by our genes but also by our
experiences.
Plasticity refers to the brain’s ability to modify
itself after some types of injury or illness.
Our Divided Brain
Our brain is divided into two hemispheres.
The left hemisphere processes reading, writing,
speaking, mathematics, and comprehension
skills. In the 1960s, it was termed as the
dominant brain.
Splitting the Brain
A procedure in which the two hemispheres of the
brain are isolated by cutting the connecting fibers
(mainly those of the corpus callosum) between them.
Martin M. Rother
Courtesy of Terence Williams, University of Iowa
Corpus Callosum
Split Brain Patients
With the corpus callosum severed, objects (apple)
presented in the right visual field can be named.
Objects (pencil) in the left visual field cannot.
Divided Consciousness
Try This!
Try drawing one shape with your left hand and
one with your right hand, simultaneously.
BBC
Right-Left Differences in the Intact
Brain
People with intact brains also show left-right
hemispheric differences in mental abilities.
A number of brain scan studies show normal
individuals engage their right brain when
completing a perceptual task and their left brain
when carrying out a linguistic task.
Is it All Right to be Left Handed?
Being a left hander is difficult in a right-handed
world.
Clockwise Right or Counter Left Brain
Tests
1. Pair up – Poke a hole in a paper and
look through the hole.
2. Lean over and whisper to your partner as
softly as you can.
Process L/R.
Test
• Need volunteers. Your job is to fool the
crowd.
• Are you left or right-handed? You will do a
couple of tasks to see if you can fool the
crowd.